


Not Quite First Meeting

by Basmathgirl



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Friendship/Love, Internet, Long-Distance Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-02
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-04-18 16:03:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4712018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Basmathgirl/pseuds/Basmathgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Friends from online chatrooms are real too. Sometimes too real; and often not real enough.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** I merely found this written in my notebook, in my own handwriting, so I can't claim anything.  
>  **A/N:** I honestly found this written in my notebook and I didn't remember writing it!

  
  
by EL CHICO DETERGENTE

**m-boy08:** Hello s-temp71  
**s-temp71:** Hello m-boy08  
**m-boy08:** I’ve just been talking about you  
**s-temp71:** Really?! I hope it was all good stuff  
**m-boy08:** Of course! I was being asked about you by my girlfriend  
**s-temp71:** Hopefully she doesn’t think we’re having an online affair  
**m-boy08:** No, nothing like that. She’s the one who encouraged me to come on here. But she wondered why I don’t know your real name  
**s-temp71:** That’s because I haven’t told you  
**m-boy08:** Ha ha. Funny  
**s-temp71:** Let’s swap details then. What’s your name?  
**m-boy08:** John. Well, Jonathan really but people forget and call me John. And you?  
**s-temp71:** Not John.   
**m-boy08:** What is it? Are you secretly Beyoncé  
**s-temp71:** I could wish! No, I’m Donna. Nice to properly meet you  
**m-boy08:**  
**s-temp71:** John?  
**m-boy08:**  
**s-temp71:** Jon-not-John, are you there? Where did you go?  
**m-boy08:** I’m here. Sorry. I was a bit shocked for a moment  
**s-temp71:** Why’s that?  
**m-boy08:** My twin was called Donna  
**s-temp71:** What a coincidence! *was*?  
**m-boy08:** Yes. I lost her; we lost her quite a while ago  
**s-temp71:** Sorry.  I’m sorry  
**m-boy08:** That’s alright. You weren’t to know. In many ways you remind me of her  
**s-temp71:** Funnily enough I once had a brother called John. Well, when I say I had him, I didn’t really because he died soon after birth. Heart problem. They didn’t know how to cure it back then.  
**m-boy08:** I’m sorry. It must have been hard for your mum  
**s-temp71:** She never really got over it. I sort of felt responsible if that makes any sense. Especially when my brother Matthew didn’t make it either  
**m-boy08:** Yes, it does make sense. That sort of thing makes people bitter  
**s-temp71:** Tell me about it! Mum is a very bitter person  
**m-boy08:**   
**s-temp71:** Thanks for the hug. So… you’ve got a girlfriend. Not married?  
**m-boy08:** It’s complicated. I wanted to but she needs to work through her feelings, make sure she is choosing me for the right reasons  
**s-temp71:** Why would you be wrong?  
**m-boy08:** Because when I met her she was deeply in love with someone else, but he abandoned her, said he had someone else  
**s-temp71:** How wizard!  
**m-boy08:** Totally. Plus I look just like him, which normally works in my favour, but…  
**s-temp71:** But what?  
**m-boy08:** I’m like him in a lot of ways but she doesn’t always like how I sound  
**s-temp71:** You’re not closely related to him are you?   
**m-boy08:** I am actually. I was one of three, and he’s the other one  
**s-temp71:** Oops! Sorry. Put my foot right in it. How does he feel about you being with his ex?  
**m-boy08:** Oh, he’s fine about it. He encouraged me to go after her, since he wouldn’t be around her anymore  
**s-temp71:** Awkward  
**m-boy08:** Tell me about it! Most people don’t understand  
**s-temp71:** Then most people are stupid  
**m-boy08:** They certainly are. What about you?  
**s-temp71:** What about me? Are you insinuating that I’m stupid?!   
**m-boy08:** No, definitely not. I was just wondering if you’re married  
**s-temp71:** Ha ha ha! You have to have someone willing to marry you first for that to happen. No one wants me  
**m-boy08:** I’m sure somebody does  
**s-temp71:** Really?! If you have his phone number - do pass it on  
**m-boy08:** I wish I could. For now you’ll have to make do with me  
**s-temp71:** If you saw me you wouldn’t be saying that  
**m-boy08:** Why, what’s wrong with you?  
**s-temp71:** I’m far too old  
**m-boy08:** As in far into your 90s too old?  
**s-temp71:** Cheeky sod! I ain’t *that* old, but I am in my thirties  
**m-boy08:** So what. So am I  
**s-temp71:** Yeah, but you’re a bloke. You can get away with it  
**m-boy08:** Geroff! Everybody is entitled to be loved  
**s-temp71:** Go on then… tell me how old your girlfriend is. Prove me wrong  
**m-boy08:** She’s in her twenties. Alright, you’re right this time but generally you’re not  
**s-temp71:** I won’t believe you until you can present me with a bloke who’d rather look at a woman in her thirties than one in her twenties. Then and only then will I believe you  
**m-boy08:** I still disagree  
**s-temp71:** I suppose you would, seeing as you caught yourself a young one. No doubt the big attraction is that she could produce you a whole brood of children should you want them  
**m-boy08:** It doesn’t matter what I want, she doesn’t want children  
**s-temp71:** So you want them but she doesn’t!   
**m-boy08:** Yes  
**s-temp71:** That’s a major stopping point. Are you sure you’re well suited enough to stay together?  
**m-boy08:** She… I love her  
**s-temp71:** Then you’ll have to suck it up and forget having children. Whatever you do, don’t trick her into it  
**m-boy08:** I won’t. I promise  
**s-temp71:** Good  
**m-boy08:** Were children part of your life plan?  
**s-temp71:** They were. It would have been nice but it wasn’t to be. I get to babysit my friend Nerys’ twins whenever I feel the urge. They soon make me glad I can hand them back  
**m-boy08:** That’s true. My girlfriend’s got a little brother called Tony. Everything is “Why why why?” until I am sick of answering questions. Not that he understands when I explain the finite qualities of mechanics  
**s-temp71:** It must be wearing. I had a friend who liked explaining all that sort of thing. I think. Can’t remember his name for the life of me. How daft is that?!  
**m-boy08:** Sounds like senility. Are you sure you’re only in your thirties?   
**s-temp71:** Oi! Watch it, buster! I *can* go off people  
**m-boy08:** You like it really  
**s-temp71:** As if. I’d own up to that one  
**m-boy08:** The smoke alarm is going off so that means dinner must be ready  
**s-temp71:** Ah, I remember when that was how I called people to dinner  
**m-boy08:** I bet you are a whiz in the kitchen now   
**s-temp71:** Yep, I run through it extremely fast as I rush to answer the door to the pizza delivery man  
**m-boy08:** Ha ha ha! Bye for now  
**s-temp71:** Bye


	2. Chapter 2

  
gif by [artoftabby](http://artoftabby.tumblr.com/post/52641137991/we-usually-fall-asleep-texting-each-other-in-our)  


  
**m-boy08:** Hello Donna  
 **s-temp71:** Hello Jon-not-John. How are you? You’ve not been around for ages  
 **m-boy08:** Yeah. Sorry about that.  
 **s-temp71:** I thought you’d run out on me   
**m-boy08:** No, I’d never do that to you  
 **s-temp71:** Then where have you been?  
 **m-boy08:** I tried… It’s been a bit upsetting  
 **s-temp71:** Oh. What’s happened? Nothing too disastrous I hope  
 **m-boy08:** Probably. We’ve broken up  
 **s-temp71:** I’m so sorry!  Do you want to talk about it?  
 **m-boy08:** I don’t know. She couldn’t get passed how different I am to what she wanted… expected  
 **s-temp71:** What on earth did you promise her?! Sounds like you lied about your life  
 **m-boy08:** No, I didn’t do that. It’s more to do with me not being exactly like my brother in the bits that count  
 **s-temp71:** That’s harsh. You are NOT him! You are *you*; a separate person  
 **m-boy08:** Far too separate for her liking  
 **s-temp71:** How wizard! I’m sorry but what did you see in her?  
 **m-boy08:** Sweetness, innocence, loyalty, youth. All the usual stuff  
 **s-temp71:** You can get all that from a puppy  
 **m-boy08:** Hahahaha! Thank you for making me laugh. I needed that  
 **s-temp71:** You’re welcome  
 **m-boy08:** Why is it easier to understand constellations then women?  
 **s-temp71:** Because women have thoughts and feelings while constellations don’t. It isn’t rocket science  
 **m-boy08:** Now THAT I would understand better too  
 **s-temp71:** Oh dear. Sounds like you’ve got that terrible disease…  
 **m-boy08:** Terrible disease?!!  
 **s-temp71:** Yeah, it’s called ‘bloke-itus’  
 **m-boy08:** I should be insulted by that  
 **s-temp71:** You should. But I bet you aren’t  
 **m-boy08:** I’m trying to be  
 **s-temp71:** Oh really?  
 **m-boy08:** Yeah. Honest.  
 **s-temp71:** Then why don’t I believe you?  
 **m-boy08:** Because… I don’t know. Perhaps you don’t trust me  
 **s-temp71:** How can I when I haven’t seen you in person?  
 **m-boy08:** Yes. Well. About that  
 **s-temp71:** Here it comes, the big brush off  
 **m-boy08:** No no no no. It isn’t you, it’s me  
 **s-temp71:** As if I have never heard that one before.  
 **m-boy08:** It’s true  
 **s-temp71:** If you say so  
 **m-boy08:** I mean it  
 **s-temp71:** Blokes always do. Apparently  
 **m-boy08:** I swear upon my life  
 **s-temp71:** Look, you don’t have to worry about it. I understand.  
 **m-boy08:** When I say I would love to see you in person, I don’t think you have any idea how much I wish I could  
 **s-temp71:** Then put your money where your mouth is  
 **m-boy08:** Bugger! I walked right into that one.  
 **s-temp71:** It would seem you did  
 **m-boy08:** No doing any victory dance over there  
 **s-temp71:** As if I would. I’m the picture of innocence  
 **m-boy08:** Is that who it is under the definition of “innocence” in the dictionary? Now I know  
 **s-temp71:** And that’s you under the definition of “bullshit”  
 **m-boy08:** So now that you know what I look like, why do I need to get a webcam?  
 **s-temp71:** You don’t get to wriggle out of it that easily, sunshine!  
 **m-boy08:** I don’t? Well isn’t that wizard  
 **s-temp71:** Yeah, so hop to it, mister  
 **m-boy08:** *hop hops away*  
 **s-temp71:** Clever  
 **m-boy08:** I rather thought I am  
 **s-temp71:** And modest too.  
 **m-boy08:** Yep! That’s me  
 **s-temp71:** Oh, btw…  
 **m-boy08:** What?  
 **s-temp71:** I thought you need to know, as you hop away, I can see your bum  
 **m-boy08:** BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA  
 **s-temp71:** *bows*  
 **m-boy08:** Bye Donna. Hope to see you soon  <3  
 **s-temp71:** Bye Jon-not-John  <3 


	3. Chapter 3

A tall, willowy figure stood by a bed in a darkened room last visited long ago. Before him lay the figure of a woman who had once been intertwined with his life, who could not know that he guarded her slumber. 

He touched her mind. 

She still thought about _him_ , her virtual friend; still pined to talk to him, even now, after all these years. Would it wrong to take that away? Or would it be worse to give him to her? The decision had to be made; good or bad.

Having done so, he turned and walked reluctantly away.

~~~

It had all begun, long ago, just after that time all those planets had appeared in the sky. When the wind was warmer and the North Sea didn’t freeze over every winter. Back when the eons of pain hadn’t taken their toll and she could still manage to skip along when the mood took her. Unfortunately the mood rarely bothered to do so. The truth was: she felt trapped. Trapped by her small, idealised world that didn’t seem to consist of anything. In an effort to defeat it, she had given in and followed her mother’s advice. That is, if you could call it that. It was more of an order really. 

That was how Donna Noble found herself courting Shaun Temple; and didn’t that phrase throw up all sorts of old fashioned images all on its own. It was an extremely old-fashioned courtship, with no sexual shenanigans, no creeping away for dirty weekends, no midnight trysts beneath a moonlight sky, not even a quick grope on an old settee. No, nothing like that ever happened between them. It was as though they had bypassed the normal courtship and headed straight into senior citizen territory, of the boring kind. They rarely got further then holding hands; a major achievement compared to Donna’s earlier days when several suitors had tried to force their way into her knickers. None of them ever did. She wasn’t going to put up with any of that nonsense! Not Donna Noble. They would respect her space or they would be out the door. Nobody got a second chance. Things were off limits and they were going to stay that way until she said so. End of. 

Which made her relationship with her mystery man all the weirder. There had been no fuss from him when she had set out her ground rules; in fact he had endorsed them immediately, praising her for her foresight. How many men did that? She could almost name all the ones within a six mile radius, you know, if you actually wanted to know that sort of thing, and not many did. It was an unusual gift. But a gift nevertheless. 

It had begun quite mildly. One day her Gramps had come bounding in, saying that the astronomy club were branching out, trying to get newer, younger members, so would she help him set up an online facility for them to talk to each other. How innocent is that? Very. So she had readily agreed, since it would require her to use a brain cell or two instead of just her typing fingers, and off they went! The Chiswick and Acton Astronomy Society was born on the internet, with a flashy logo and everything. Of course she wangled herself a position on the general organising committee after that. Well, it was only right and fitting. After all, she had been doing the job on the quiet for many a year, so it was about time she gained some sort of recognition for it. 

That was how she came to be perusing the list of possible new members and come across his name. It felt familiar, so she had taken the trouble to personally contact him, let him know the general rules of the club, and welcome him in. That was why she first contacted Jon-not-John, aka Jonathan. And that was why he had written back. It was all very “hello and how do you do” followed by “you were recommended by so and so” and “you seem very nice”. Of course Wilf had stuck his oar in, made light of it and suggested she had only contacted the bloke because he was the first one under the age of forty who had seemed keen to join and he lived conveniently nearby. Naturally Donna rebuked this. As if she would ever proceed in such a way. She wasn’t some mantrap, after all. No, that sort of thing was left to other women of her age. Women who were known to be attractive, and usually blonde; natural or otherwise. Being ginger did you no favours, even now when having red hair was fashionable. So she had kept schtum about it, in the same way that she hadn’t mentioned that she was still single, without children and living with her mother. Looking at her predicament in the cold light of day, she realised what a sad act she was. No husband, no home that she could claim was purely her own, no childish giggles to wake her up in the morning, no warm brown eyes to greet her when she…

Hang on a tick. When had the fantasy included a man with brown eyes? Sure, a man had been in there somewhere, for quite some time, but to have a particular physical trait in there was a weird one to discover. So she was rather partial to brown eyes now, was she? Hmm. That could work, she decided; and went back to her daydream. 

What she really liked about Jon was that he was always polite. He never asked anything about her personal life, but let her reveal only what she wanted to. There was no demand for pictures, which admittedly had been one of her biggest fears when she first started conversing with the members of the society. You hear such horror stories of women being asked for nudie pictures by men or of being offered photos of their cocks. Who needed that? Not her, anyway. Come to think of it, Jon had offered to send her a picture of his new puppy, since he was very proud of his new little friend; but that was as far as it had gone. That is, it had been, until she discovered Skype. 

“Oh go on, add me,” she had tried to entice him. “Otherwise I’ll have no one to try this out on. I see my other friends all the time and I don’t want their ugly mugs cluttering up my computer.” 

“Okay, but only for messaging purposes,” he had replied, rather reluctantly. “I don’t go in for all that webcam stuff. It gives me the creeps.”

“That’s fine with me,” she had instantly agreed. 

Well, it would be different to exchanging emails or IMs. It would all gain a sense of urgency, a better idea of what a real conversation would go like with him. Not that she needed to see him face to face. 

Obviously she was curious. Who wouldn’t be? But she respected his privacy and what she assumed to be his lack of self-esteem after his recent breakup; if he’d had a real girlfriend in the first place, of course, rather than some fantasy woman who’d dated his brother. It wouldn’t surprise her if he was a contender for the fattest man in Britain, or if he was the victim of a horrific burns accident. Either would explain his reluctance to be seen by her. She couldn’t think of any other reason that would stop him wanting to be seen and to see her in kind. Even a blind person would crave physical contact or a personal connection of some kind, she argued. And it was no skin off her nose if he didn’t want to see her. Let’s face it, the longer he managed to get by without that piece of information, the better it was in general for him; poor bloke. It’d only upset his dinner if he actually saw her. It was a well-known fact. 

Months went by where they would cyber chat, comparing what they’d done during the day, what lunar eclipse was coming up next, how to batten down the hatches for when the next solar wind attacked; that sort of thing. Astronomy always came first in their conversations. And then she had started asking him about club meetings, why he never attended but paid the fees, according to the records. It just seemed strange to her that he would be mentally involved but didn’t follow through physically. 

“I can’t, Donna,” he admitted during one such conversation. “I just can’t.”

“But it needn’t be so bad for you,” she had encouraged. “If you like, I could go along too and give you moral support.”

There had been a pregnant pause after her offer. One where he had obviously been thinking. “I like the idea of you doing that, but it would be wrong.”

“Wrong? How?” she had inevitably asked. “It’s not as though the anorak police are going to suddenly turn up and arrest you for wearing North Face designer wear, is it?!”

There had been lots of smiley emoticons in reply to that. “Well, I have been told that I dress rather dapper,” he boasted. 

“Oh no, you’ll definitely be arrested then,” she had joked. “Anything not bought in C&A, circa 1980, would have you outlawed.”

“What if I smiled nicely?” he wondered in kind.

“Depends,” she retorted. “Have you been using Sterident regularly or not?”

“I could claim that I do, despite not having false teeth,” he considered. 

“Nah! That wouldn’t do,” she continued. “Although a well-placed walking stick and a packet of humbugs could rescue you. Maybe even some Werther’s Originals.”

“Blimey! I never knew it would be this tough,” he mock-grumbled. “How on earth do you get by?”

“I’m just expected to make the tea and type up the notes,” she answered. “It’s amazing how invisible you can be as a woman. And I do assure you that I am a woman. It says so on my birth certificate.”

“That isn’t always a guarantee,” he pointed out. 

“True. Very true. That confirms it then,” she said decisively. “You’ll have to see me for yourself and make up your own mind.”

“I’ve rather talked myself into that one,” he conceded. “Give me a day or two to get a webcam, and then we’ll be in business.”

“As what?! I’m not that type of woman, thank you very much!” she responded. “I shouldn’t have to do any more than flash you a brief glimpse of my cleavage.”

“I assure you that you wouldn’t have to do anything beyond showing me your throat,” he consoled her. “Not everyone has to look down your top.”

She was tempted to then put “Chance would be a fine thing” but quickly deleted it once she had typed it. No, it wouldn’t do to be saucy or to tempt fate. There had been too many times in the past when a seemingly innocent bloke had taken advantage. She didn’t want to risk tarnishing her burgeoning friendship with Jon. So what if he turned out to be a bald fifty year old man who sat in front of the screen in just his underpants and a string vest. That didn’t matter. So far his personality had been warm, friendly, intelligent and fun. What more could she want from a pen pal, or whatever the modern equivalent of that was. There had been a meaningful connection between them via the written word, something that meant a great deal to her and increasingly gained status as the days went by. Yes, she would even go as far as describing him as her friend, a real life friend. So stick that in your pipe and smoke it, Nerys!

 

Two days later he messaged her to say that he had his webcam working, so did she fancy a go? It was a no brainer to reply that she was all too willing. His initial reaction to the sight of her would be telling; and she almost bit through her lip with worry as she accepted his video call. 

What she saw was a hunched up figure dressed as though he was about to attempt to reach the Mittelegi Ridge on the traverse of the Eiger. “Is it that cold in your place? You obviously need to get your heating fixed,” she commented. 

The large hoodie and cap that encompassed his head, bobbed up and down in agreement. 

Somewhere underneath all that fabric was a pair of eyes that peeked out at her from some knitting. The scarf wrapped around the bottom part of his face did him no favours where being understood was either. His words sounded extremely mumbled. Not exactly a shocker that one.

“I can’t hear you,” she insisted yet again as he said something that was unintelligible. “You’ll have to move your scarf out of the way.”

A gloved hand came up to push part of the scarf down. “Can you hear me now?”

She had strained her ears to catch his mumble. “Just about. But do you have to dress like Scott of the Antarctic? Some decent thermals would get rid of half of those layers.”

“Sorry. I’m so sorry about this,” he said, but it was pretty garbled.

“Look, why don’t we try this another time, when you don’t mind me actually seeing any of you,” she griped. “I can understand you not wanting to see me, but this ridiculous.”

“I didn’t mean that I don’t want to see you,” he protested. “Quite the opposite.”

“Yeah,” she sarcastically agreed. This argument was familiar territory, after all. “Well your secret identity is safe from my prying eyes, Jon-not-John.” Then with a heavy sigh, she declared, “Oh bugger this! I’ll talk to you later perhaps when you can be bothered to do so. Bye.”

“Donna!” he cried out, but he was already too late, and she had ended their call. Using slow movements, he took off his gloves, pulled down the scarf from around his head, and reverently touched the screen where her image had been. Tenderly he whispered, “Goodbye, love.”


	4. Chapter 4

**m-boy08:** Donna? Are you there?  
**s-temp71:**  
**m-boy08:** OK. I understand. Sorry 

~~~~

 **m-boy08:** Are you there yet, Donna?  
**s-temp71:**  
**m-boy08:** Please talk to me.  
**s-temp71:**  
**m-boy08:** I’m sorry. But it isn’t what it looked like.  
**s-temp71:**  
**m-boy08:** I miss you 

~~~~

 **s-temp71:** Hello Jon-not-John  
**m-boy08:** DONNA! I am so pleased to see you again  
**s-temp71:** It’s been a while, I must admit  
**m-boy08:** I am so sorry that I upset you with my daft outfit  
**s-temp71:** I admit that I was upset for a while, but I’m fine now  
**m-boy08:** Are you sure?  
**s-temp71:** Yes. No, but I’m getting over it.  
**m-boy08:** There was a good reason for me covering up, and it’s going to sound stupid when I explain why.  
**s-temp71:** Go on then. Explain  
**m-boy08:** It’s because I was frightened how you would react when you saw me  
**s-temp71:** What on earth did you expect to happen?  
**m-boy08:** That you’d see me and you’d… I don’t want to hurt you  
**s-temp71:** Oh  
**m-boy08:** Now I know that you probably think this is leading up to something bad, but I was so excited to finally see you, and then there you were, on my screen. So beautiful.  
**s-temp71:** You’re just saying that to be kind  
**m-boy08:** No, you need to know that you are stunning  
**s-temp71:** Stop trying to make me blush  
**m-boy08:** If that happens when I tell the truth, then so be it  
**s-temp71:** You flatterer! I suppose you think you’ve got away with it  
**m-boy08:** Then let me try again. Please?  
**s-temp71:** I don’t know…  
**m-boy08:** Go on. I’ll let you wear the daft outfit this time  
**s-temp71:** Hahahahaha! You’re on Astro boy. You can reveal all tomorrow  
**m-boy08:** Then it’s a date.  
**s-temp71:** What sort of a date?  
**m-boy08:** I dunno but I know what I’m hoping for. Why don’t we find out together?  
**s-temp71:** Okay. Everyone deserves a second chance. See you tomorrow. Bye  
**m-boy08:** Bye  <3


	5. Chapter 5

Jonathan desperately looked at himself in the bathroom mirror, turning his face this way and that; closely examining what he saw reflected. Was he recognisable? Did he look different enough? Could he carry this off?

“What on earth have you done to your hair?” Rose had loudly questioned him when she’d first spotted him that morning. “It’s…” She had then grimaced.

“You’re supposed to say it looks nice,” he tersely replied, giving his head a defensive touch. “It’s called being polite.”

“Seriously?” she queried, laughing at his expression. “You expect me to say I like it?”

He glared back at her. “That’s exactly what I expect to hear whether you think so or not.” He then added, “If you can’t say anything nice then don’t say anything.”

“You’ve changed your tune,” she commented. “Since when did you care so much about hurting other people’s feelings?”

“Since I stopped being the Doctor,” he pointed out, anticipating the gasp that gained. 

“I’m so sorry,” she apologised. “I keep forgetting that you’re not… him.”

“So I’ve noticed,” he bitterly remarked, and then sighed deeply when she stood looking at him with a guilty expression on her face. “Nobody said you had to like me, Rose, so now I’m making it easier for you and D-and-anyone else who sees me,” he stammered, almost letting out the name that held so much sway over him. “Hopefully I look nothing like the Doctor.”

“You can say that again,” Rose snorted in scorn, and then wondered why he seemed so pleased with himself. Didn’t he want her to fall back in love with him, for goodness sake? “Why now?” she wondered.

With a shrug of indifference, he countered, “Why not? I’m getting on with my life.”

The defiant lift of his chin suddenly reminded her of someone else entirely, and she wasn’t pleased by the thought. “Good luck with that.”

“Thanks,” he conceded as though she hadn’t sounded sarcastic, and then left her standing there, feeling only the merest whiff of interest that she was puzzled by his behaviour. It was time to take another step towards moving completely on from her and her inability to accept his individuality. “How wizard,” he muttered to himself.

~~~~

It was with some trepidation that he started up his computer and logged into Skype. This was it, time to face the music if he wanted to continue corresponding with Donna. With a trembling hand, he hit the video call button and held his breath in anticipation.

“Please let this work. Please, please, please, please,” he quietly begged.

And then the very thing he had been waiting for happened. Donna answered his call.

What she saw was a middle-aged man, as expected, but the rest of it was a complete surprise. No chubby man sitting in a string vest and shorts, no strikingly different physical attributes, no features that made him look like a bag of spanners; in fact nothing overtly negative at all.

For a split second she was disappointed he wasn’t flawed; and then she noticed his blonde carefully styled wavy hair, large piercing brown intelligent eyes, clean-shaven, wonky but handsome features, and crisp white clothing that could have been worn by any catwalk male model. 

All in all, he was an extremely pleasing package, causing both jubilation and a lack of delight within her. What chance would she ever have with him if he was this good looking? Next to no chance, knowing her luck. No wonder he had previously bagged himself a young blonde. 

“Is that you, Jon-not-John?” she hesitantly queried.

He giggled for a moment. “It’s definitely me, Donna. So erm... How are you?” 

She sat back in her seat a little. “I’m fine. And you?”

“So much better now that I’ve seen you,” he replied with some relief, and more than a hint of amusement. But something still niggled. “Care to explain the outfit?”

“What, this?” she wondered innocently as she looked down at herself and fingered the flimsy material of her top. It boasted a loud abstract pattern in turquoise, pink and purple. “Just thought I’d follow a theme; you know, since you went all Captain Scott.”

He nodded his approval. “I’m not getting an explorer vibe though. Anyone in particular that you’ve based yourself on?”

“Erm…” She tipped off the massive sunhat she wore, and removed the absolutely enormous sunglasses that had covered her eyes in order to place one arm of them thoughtfully against her lips. “A hint of Sophia Loren or Brigitte Bardot, I thought. What was the name of that woman in that thing? You know the one. She was in the spy film.” 

“Are you talking about a Bond girl?” he queried, trying not to stare as the delicate transparent material revealed that she was wearing a skimpy bikini top underneath it. Her whole cleavage was suddenly framed beautifully and he was powerless to avert his gaze. “Yeah, that could be it,” he squeaked, and then hastily cleared his throat. “It’s a very sunny outfit.”

“I thought so,” she declared triumphantly. “You’re a bit of a Bond boy yourself in that get up.”

“Well, when in Rome,” he joked. “I thought I’d look my best for you.”

She had to admit that he had achieved that. “What’s the real reason you are dressed up posh? Got a date?”

Recognising the undertone of her question, he leaned forward toward the webcam, and stated, “Yes. My date is you.”

He was close enough to easily see the blush that crept up from her neck. “Well, I,” she blustered. “That’s very kind of you, considering…”

“There is nothing to consider, Donna,” he insisted. “This is the nearest we can get to dating each other, but I wish it could be oh so much more.”

“Now you really are flattering me,” she commented, waving her hand about in embarrassment.

“Yes, I am,” he readily agreed, “so you’d better get used to it as I intend to continue.”

There was both a disbelieving and a pleased quality in her smirk at him. “I like that picture on the wall behind you,” she complimented, wanting to change the subject away from herself.

“Do you?” He turned around to glance at it, feeling very pleased that she approved. Rose had hated it. “Would you like to see the rest of my flat?”

When she said that she would, he picked up his laptop and carried around his flat, pointing out various things in each room with pride.

“You’ve got a beautiful home,” Donna gushed once the tour had finished. Most of it was stuff she would have chosen herself if she had the funds. “Your job must pay well.”

“It does rather,” he granted. 

“Seeing as you did that,” she remarked as she lifted herself up off her chair, accidentally giving him another eyeful as she did so, “it’s only fair that I show you my home.”

“Oh! You don’t have to,” he proclaimed, but she was already walking about, giving a running commentary.

“And this is the living room with Mum and Gramps,” she announced as she entered the lounge.

“Why on earth are you dressed up for a day on the beach?” Sylvia demanded to know as she glanced up from her magazine. “And who’s he?”

“I did it as a joke. This is my friend Jonathan,” Donna introduced him, with more than a hint of strain in her voice, and Jon duly waved at Sylvia, keeping his hands in front of his face as much as politely possible as he did so. “Say hello to Gramps.”

“Hello, lad,” Wilf jovially greeted his granddaughter’s friend. But when he saw exactly who it was; or to be more correct, who he thought it was, he went pale. “Oh my gawd…”

Donna instantly put her laptop down and went to console her grandfather. “You alright, Gramps? Do you need anything?”

“No, I’m fine,” he insisted. “Just a slight funny turn when I moved my head too quickly to look. Probably a spot of arthritis in my neck. Nothing to worry about. You go and have a nice chat with your friend.”

“Is he related to that politician bloke?” Sylvia wondered, trying to think of someone other than the Doctor.

“Don’t think so,” Donna answered, and warily picked up her laptop. “Are you, Jon?” she asked him directly.

“Perhaps way back in my family past,” he supposed, grateful they had mentioned someone else. “There was talk of a presidency of an organisation, but that’s it, as far as I know.”

Wilf watched Donna with trepidation. Was she alright? Could she have overlooked the similarity enough to stay safe? When she returned back downstairs, all high with excitement after talking to her friend, he knew he would have to say something.

“This Jon… how much do you know about him?” he began his conversation with her. 

“Have you been living on a different planet to me?” she sarcastically pondered. “I’ve been talking to him online for ages. It was you who encouraged me to talk to him in the first place.”

“About that, Sweetheart,” he said with concern, “I was wrong to do that. In fact me and your mum have been talking, and we think you ought to stop talking to him on the webcam thing.”

“This is the ‘webcams are naughty’ conversation all over again, isn’t it?” Donna protested. “Well it ain’t going to stop me having the first decent male friend I’ve had in years. How old do you think I am? I’m not thirteen anymore. Other women of my age have a husband and children.”

“That’s usually my point,” Sylvia interjected. “But I’m with your grandfather on this one. You should give up Jonathan for your own good.”

“No I bloody won’t!” Donna cried out in anger. “I get to choose who my friends are; not you! So unless you can come up with a decent argument that isn’t based on the fact we chat online, I suggest you shut up about it.”

“Donna, be reasonable,” Sylvia implored her. 

But the damage was done, and Donna stormed out of the room in order to fling herself onto her bed and have a good cry in frustration.


	6. Chapter 6

The phone call from Wilf had deeply concerned the Doctor. It had been something about a particular face in his dreams, and worrying about Donna. She hadn’t had the same dream as her family but she did keep mentioning one man. A man she talked to on the internet almost every day, to the exclusion of anybody and everybody else. 

Nothing new in regards to the man business, where Donna was concerned, but the rest of it had caught the Doctor’s interest. And after the events that followed, he almost wished it hadn’t been. He had done what had to be done.

~~~~

That was the first time he had received such a phone call. Later on he had wondered if Wilf had lost his marbles. Surely it wasn’t right to be so concerned about Donna’s love life? It had all seemed innocent enough; and then Wilf had seen this new fella in Donna’s life. 

“Come and see him for yourself, Doctor,” Wilf had begged. “It ain’t right. She’ll kill herself at this rate. I’ve been doing me best to stop her talking to him, but I’m running out of excuses, and there’s only so many times you can feign a funny turn. My health isn’t the best these days and I don’t want to risk it anymore.”

Now intrigued, the Doctor had landed the TARDIS in Wilf’s back garden, next to his shed, and snuck silently upstairs, expecting this to be a wild goose chase. Whatever it was, he couldn’t risk the life of his best friend. That was why he found himself standing once more by the side of her bed, watching her sleep. Given the choice, he would have seen her for different reasons entirely. Preferably much happier ones. If only it hadn’t been this way, but alas the matter had been taken out of his hands. He had to act and it had to be now.

As far as he could tell, the only way to save her life was to give her back her other metacrisis half. Too many risks had already been taken. It was Rose’s happiness against Donna’s life, he considered. There was no competition between the two; alive was always the best option. 

From out of his pocket he retrieved a small circuit board and pressed it into her hand. “You know what to do with this, Donna,” he whispered into her ear. “I’ll see you in a different life time. Goodbye for now.”

Having said his words, he reverently touched her arm, wishing he could hold her hand one more time but knowing it was not to be. That was someone else’s prerogative now.

Moments later it was as if he had never been there.

~~~~

It was quite early in the day when Donna woke up from a vivid nightmare. In it she had gained a visit from her husband, but in the dream she couldn’t communicate with him or even see him, paralysed as she was by some unseen force. She had heard his voice, felt his presence, and knew him to be connected to her by marriage. It was like being visited by a guardian angel. 

On waking, she was surprised to find herself desperately clutching a piece of fancy plastic; something that looked as though it had fallen out of the back of a calculator. Weird. It reminded her of something, but she didn’t know what. 

What she did know, however, was that it motivated her to make a gadget to plug into the computer. It almost whispered the instructions to her as she sat holding it in the palm of her hand. Not the first weird thing that had ever happened to her in her life, and probably not the last. The one thing that she was sure of was that she had to tell Jonathan about this discovery; that it was imperative he knew of its existence. 

Having finished her task, she rushed to send him an email to describe her project.

~~~~

His excitement had almost known no bounds when she had shown him it held within her palm as they chatted over Skype. 

“Send me a detailed photo of it,” he had immediately requested.

“I can do better than that,” she smugly retorted. “On my computer I have a schematic to share with you. Don’t ask me how I managed to draw it all, but it just popped into my head.”

“You what!” he had exclaimed in delight. “You beauty! I could kiss you.”

“A bit forward,” she had teased. “Have we even been properly introduced?”

“Obviously not,” he cheerily replied. “I think we’re onto something here, and I might be able to actually see you in person very soon.”

“Do you really think so?!” she had squealed with delight. “That would be marvellous.”

“What about your mum and Gramps? Would they be okay with us meeting up?” he queried, trying not to sound too anxious.

His mood did a down-turned flip when she answered with a sigh. “Gramps and Mum still don’t think I ought to get involved with you. Mum has gone back to continuously grumbling at me to get a permanent job, with decent money and the chance to meet someone proper; someone I could end up marrying.”

“Oh,” he gasped, and grimaced. “Still the same old song then.”

“I’m afraid so,” she admitted, and leaned forward to express her sincerity. “They just don’t understand the connection we have. I’ve tried quizzing them about it, but they won’t explain their opposition to you. All they do is change the subject and go on about me getting a life, as they put it.” 

“Yeah,” he softly retorted. “If you want to give me up like they say you should, I’d understand.”

“Now don’t you start all that nonsense again!” she chided him. “I want to meet you, and you want to meet me. Come hell or high water, we will do that.”

“And what if you lose them in the process, Donna? You need your family,” he tried to reason while his heart silently broke. 

She lifted her chin defiantly. “Then that’s what happens. What will be will be. We’re destined to meet; I can feel it in my bones. They’ve had their time, spent with the person they loved. Now’s my turn to see if I can get that too.”

A huge beaming smile lit up his face, and he brought up a hand to touch the screen over her image. “Soon, Donna Noble. We will find out soon.”

Her own hand was placed over his. “The two musketeers, fighting the good fight, together.”

Blowing each other a kiss, they ended their Skype call; deep in their own thoughts and plans.

This had to work, Jon told himself. He couldn’t bear it if it didn’t. He’d rather die trying than let this opportunity go. 

~~~~

“You got anything special planned for tonight?” Wilf aimed at Donna as they sat eating their evening meal.

“Yes,” she nodded, taking another bite. “I’m hoping to finally meet Jon.”

The sound of cutlery being dropped in shock filled the kitchen.

“What?” Sylvia gasped out. “How… Why… Where are you meeting?”

“He’s coming here,” Donna quickly answered while she had the chance. She had the feeling that fireworks were about to go off and the shouts of her mother would soon deafen her. 

“He can’t,” Wilf insisted.

“Gramps, if you won’t tell me why then why should I try and stop him?” Donna wondered.

“Because he is a total wrong ‘un,” Wilf supplied. “If you’re not careful, he’ll be the death of you.”

“Oh do be serious!” Donna protested. “He isn’t an axe-wielding murder, but some nerdy boffin who works for a technology company. Earning good money, I might add.”

“You’re just going after looks, and he’s just using you for practice,” Sylvia sneered.

“Well thank you for having such faith in me,” Donna snapped back. She stood up, scraping her chair on the tiled flooring. “I don’t care what you think of him; I love him.” Two pairs of eyes looked up at her in horror. “Yes, that’s what I said. I’ll repeat it, shall I? I love Jon and I am going to meet up with him no matter what you say. And if that means I’ll have to move out of here so that I can see him whenever I want, then that’s what’ll happen. This is my life, and I choose him.”

“Donna, you can’t mean that,” Sylvia wailed as her daughter started to leave the room.

“I do, Mum.” She stood in the doorway regarding the last remains of her family. “I have to do this, for me. You had Dad and Gramps had Nana. This might be my only chance.”

“Then take care, that’s all I ask,” Sylvia replied.

“We love you, sweetheart,” Wild added, more than a little teary eyed.

As expected, Donna ran back and kissed them both goodbye. “Love you too.”

A few moments later, she was gone, and they faced each other forlornly. “I’d better contact the Doctor again,” Wilf commented before rising from the table too. 

All Sylvia could do was silently regret what was about to happen. 

~~~~

Upstairs, Donna was frantically booting up her computer in her bedroom, and mentally readying herself for their much planned for meeting. Within minutes Jonathan appeared on her screen, grinning from ear to ear.

“All ready this end, Donna. Are you?” he asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she nervously answered. “Let me just check the transmat again.” She shot out of sight for some moments and then, to his relief, reappeared looking satisfied. “Give me the nod when to press the Send key.”

It was now or never, he told himself, the moment of discovery. “In case this goes a bit wrong…,” he began to say.

“Hush you! Of course it won’t go wrong,” she insisted, interrupting him.

“Nevertheless,” he continued, “I want you to know that I love you and don’t regret trying this.” The fond wan smile from her was all he needed to encourage him to carry on. “On the count of three. One….! Two….! THREE!”

She simultaneously pressed the computer key, and a loud hum emanated from the machinery that gradually increased in volume. Just as it started to get too loud to cope with, a white glow began to swirl up from the transmat. A figure could be made out; one that slowly came into focus.

“Jon!” she shrieked in excitement as his features could easily be made out. 

His arms reached out towards her, and she eagerly took his hands. 

“Are you okay with this?” he wordlessly asked.

“More than I can say,” she responded in kind, grasping his hands more tightly.

There was a blinding flash, and Wilf burst into the room, shouting, “Don’t do this!”

But he was too late.

Donna had gone. 

He moved over to the computer screen and peered intently at the image on it. To his surprise, he could easily make out Donna hugging a man; her friend, Jonathan. 

“There’s Gramps,” Jonathan could be heard to say through the speakers.

“Where?” The figure of Donna then turned around and faced the camera on the computer. She gave him a jubilant wave. “Hello, Gramps! I made it here safely. Now don’t worry about me. We can talk like this on the computer any time that you like.”

Jonathan was wrapping his arm tightly around her body, keeping a possessive hold. “And I promise to look after her.”

“You’d better,” Wilf stressed.

The pair on the screen laughed together. “Love you, Gramps. Got to go; we have a date,” Donna gleefully informed him.

“A date that is a date,” Jonathan just as happily added. 

Then snickering together, the pair of them voiced as one, “To infinity, and beyond!” before turning off the camera and ending the call. 

Wiping away a bittersweet tear, Wilf shut down the program and turned the computer off. Who’d have thought, eh? His girl a space traveller again, with her own special Martian. Just like old times.

**Author's Note:**

>  **A/N2:** this was generally inspired by [this post](http://basmathgirl.tumblr.com/post/82803880636/kelverse-adsmz-gavinfreelancer-sources).


End file.
